As a runner, you might be skeptical to try out yoga but contrary to popular belief, yoga can greatly benefit your running! But the question then becomes, should you do yoga before running or after running?
The short answer is after.
The long answer is also after but here is why! Doing a yoga session before running could relax your muscles too much and could make you more prone to injury because your body won't be used to the relaxed state. However doing a few stretches could be beneficial, just don't overdo it. It's similar to how Jeff Cavalier, from Athlean-X, explains how stretching before a workout can actually be killing your gains.
According to Dr. Tiffany Lester of Parsley Health, taking a full yoga class before running probably isn't a good idea at all. "We treat so many runners, even marathoners," she tells Mind Body Green. "We work with them to create a custom plan for how to protect their bodies while reaching their goals. We tell them that while it can be beneficial to do some yoga poses to warm up before running, I would not recommend a full yoga sequence.
"Practicing yoga stretches and relaxes muscles that need to be tight to withstand the physical load when running. You could potentially injure yourself by doing yoga beforehand because those muscles are too relaxed."
With all that being said, here is a post-yoga session, heck, you can call it a stretching session if that makes you feel better. If you need some pointers on how to use the yoga blocks to modify some of these yoga poses, you can check out this blog post
1. LOW LUNGE
Areas Targeted: Hip Flexors, Chest, and Spine
2. HALF SPLIT
Areas Targeted: Hamstrings and Calves
3. FORWARD FOLD
Areas Targeted: Hamstrings and Calves
4. PIGEON POSE
Areas Targeted: Piriformis Muscle, Hips
5. SEATED FORWARD FOLD
Areas Targeted: Hamstrings and Calves
That's it! We hope this yoga sequence helps you out on your next post-running session. Mae sure to hold each stretch for at least 60 seconds with some nice deep breaths. You don't have to use blocks to do these stretches but since runners typically have tight muscles we figured it would be great to show how to modify and keep the alignment in each stretch or yoga pose. We can't stress enough how important it is to keep proper alignment during each stretch.
Thanks for reading!